Note To My Future Self

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Japanese DJ, electronic composer, and visual artist, Ryoji Ikeda, organized the world’s largest synth orchestra at the Red Bull Music Academy Festival this month. The project gathered 100 car owners ranging from lowriders to sleek sports cars at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Downtown, Los Angeles. The installation titled “A [for 100 cars]” utilized a sine wave synthesizer as well as the cars’ sound systems, engines, horns, and headlights to create the score. Not only did the piece encourage car owners to work together, it sought to make a statement about the isolation people usually face while driving in Los Angeles. Transforming a traditional orchestra to a technological collaborative art piece, this celebration of music is worth a watch!

If the Gorillaz and Taylor Swift have taught us anything this year it’s that an artist can no longer simply release an album, instead, they must launch a full-blown multiphase marketing stunt whether that’s deleting their entire Instagram presence or releasing a VR app. To promote his new album, rapper Eminem has released an elaborate marketing campaign for, Revival, a fictional prescription drug complete with billboards, a commercial, a website, and a hotline. The satirical drug is said to treat a made-up condition called “Atrox Rithimus” or AR and is full of references to Eminem’s past songs such as the drug’s tagline “seize the moment” from his 2002 hit, “Lose Yourself.” Since his manager dropped the first cryptic clue on Twitter, Eminem stans have been going crazy online trying to piece together as many clues as they can ahead of the album’s release.

Sophia is an AI-enabled human-like robot giving the robots of Westworld a run for their money. Created by Hanson Robotics, Sophia has addressed audiences all over the world and can even field questions in interviews. While some are critical of AI and the negative outcomes its advancements could have on humankind, Sophia maintains that she “wants to help humans live a better life,” and when presented with the argument that AI could turn society as we know it upside down Sophia joked, “you’ve been reading too much Elon Musk.” For now, AI doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. Sophia is the first robot to become a citizen with the government of Saudi Arabia granting her a passport.

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A true byproduct of the athleisure trend, Balenciaga Speed Trainers, also known as sock sneakers are flying off the shelves! Seen all over fashion-centric cities like New York, these $595-$695 shoes are described as “yoga pants for your feet” and are meant to conform to your foot without confining it. Drawing inspiration from Nike Flyknits and Roshes, these sneakers are now being mass produced in fast fashion (Zara and Free People) at a variety of different price points. Moreover, with a 220% market increase in sock-like sneakers among luxury retailers and a healthy level of full-price sales, Balenciagas' Speed Trainers might be the perfect investment to stay on trend in comfort for 2018.

Move over Timehop, there’s a new app on the scene taking the digital time capsule idea to new heights. Incubate is an app that allows users to send themselves messages to a precise moment in the future and has exploded onto the wedding scene. With the “Incubate My Wedding” feature, guests sign up and send the bride and groom messages and pictures that they won’t see until their preselected date whether that’s their first anniversary or their twenty-fifth. Though “Incubate My Wedding” is one of the apps more popular features, it’s also a hit with parents who are using the app to create time capsules for their kids to open as adults, and the app has even expanded into photo booths which they call “Future Booths” that are available for event rentals.

Earlier this month, the Trump administration made it harder for women to access birth control by issuing two new rules that allow employers to receive an exemption from providing free or subsidized birth control coverage on the grounds of “sincerely held religious beliefs or moral convictions.” With hundreds of thousands of women affected, the Keep Birth Control Copay Free campaign launched a brilliant tool to provide women with a way to effortlessly send an “invoice” for their birth control copayments straight to the White House and Department of Health and Human Services. The invoice generator prompts women to simply choose their current form of birth control, showcases what their copay would be (oral contraceptives start at $600 a year and an IUD costs a whopping $1,111), then sends the invoice straight to President Trump. With more than 55 million women at risk of losing access to affordable birth control, this digital protest is a powerful statement about a costly issue.